Fast fact: Our blog will publish it’s 3000th (yes, you read that right!) blog post in 2023. All of the content is brought to you by empowered experience volunteer bloggers and insightful expert bloggers. You name a topic that a military spouse or organization could write about, we’ve probably got it. Current topics include PCS, deployment, parenting, finances, solidarity, humor, milspouse experiences, expert advice, and more. And if you don’t find what you’re looking for, you can always join us as a blogger to share your story!
Pregnancy loss, miscarriage, stillbirth—there are difficult subjects to talk about and even more difficult to endure.
Statistically, one in four women will suffer pregnancy loss. That translates into one in four dads and one in four families that have experienced the loss of a baby—and one in four military families.
The military doesn’t shield us from this sad statistic. Pregnancy loss touches the lives of nearly everyone we encounter each day in one way or another.
Life is funny sometimes. You assume one thing and end up with something entirely unexpected.
You would think after being a military spouse for more than eight years and dealing with the military for close to 11 years, I would know better than to think that things would ever go the way I expected they would.
If you ever meet me, you will know in about the first 14 seconds that I am a planner.
Most of the time, that’s a good thing. I get stuff done in the most efficient way possible.
But occasionally, it gets me in a bit of trouble and causes some stress in my life. Especially as milspouse.
We are military families. Deployments are what we do, especially for the last 15 years, and we know it. We also do TDYs, schools, trainings, and unaccompanied assignments. Plenty of separation.
Some of us do them with grace and class, like my friend who hosted an event for the company she works for with 25 parents and many small children, in her house, which looked spotless. Catered food, a mother’s helper, her hair was perfect, and we had all sorts of fun. All while on the tail-end of her spouse’s deployment, no less. She killed it like the rockstar she is, and everyone had a wonderful time.
Recently, my husband and I began the series Band of Brothers. As I was watching the struggles, laughter, tears, and journey that WWII Army Airborne soldiers went through, it wasn’t difficult to pick up on the representations of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. My husband made an off-handed comment that feeling guilty about coming home after deployments while buddies are still fighting is common.
I began to wonder if he and others around me had suffered from PTSD.
Last month I shared this post about saying goodbye to the complaining culture that many of us have become familiar with. I kid you not—it was three days after that post published that I caught myself in an attitude of major discontentment.
I was experiencing some health issues that were absolutely zero fun to deal with, my husband was called into work to handle some unexpected stuff over the weekend (yet again), he spent two half-days home between trainings in the field, and my patience was spent.
I slipped into my old habit of anger and self-pity.
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